Fighting Fire With Fire
by 8EternallyMortal8
Summary: The fountain in the middle of the garden had been smashed to pieces. At the entrance to the cave the curtain rod had been torn from its place. The son of Hephaestus felt a deep pit growing in his stomach; he was finding it hard to swallow, let alone breathe. "Calypso!" Leo called out as he scrambled towards the entrance.


**Hey guys, so I started this story a month ago, but then my best friend got me addicted to Pic Collage (another great place to fan-girl) and then school started, soooo... You get my drift of what happened. This is a rough draft of my version of Leo and Calypso's reunion. But it might not be quite what you were expecting...**

**Enjoy.**

**Dedication: To my crazy best friend P3rcab3thFor3v3r. You can thank her for this lovely inspiration. You can also thank her for forcing me to finish it... ;)**

**Disclaimer: We may both love cliff hangers, but Rick and I are two different people. His characters, my plot. Enjoy! ;)**

**Fighting Fire With Fire**

"Percy!" Annabeth called, her voice urgent and demanding, "the battle's about to start!"

"Yeah I know," the son of Poseidon called back. His brow furrowed as he stared out at the spot where the Argo II had been docked. "But where's Leo?"

. . .

Leo's spirits were high until he saw the island.

Actually it was Festus who saw it first; the animated dragon almost turned around. That's what had gotten Leo's attention.

. . .

"We can't start without him!" Jason called over the growing wind. "'To Storm of Fire the World must fall'. We need him!"

. . .

When Leo saw it, frankly, he kind of wanted to turn around, too.

. . .

"Jason," Piper yelled as she and Hazel ran towards the other half of the group. "The storm! What's going on?"

"No," Percy spoke, his words almost inaudible over the roaring wind as he stared out at the sea. "It's not Jason. It's coming from out there."

. . .

The clouds were black and thick with rain. Lightning was crackling overhead, and the looming forebodance was almost tangible. Festus clicked and whirred, making it clear that he didn't plan on going any farther.

"Some friend you are." the son of the fire god muttered, his voice shaking only a little. "Fine, you fraidy-cat. I'll go by myself."

. . .

"You're going to have to go on without him."

All of the demigods turned to see Zeus, dressed in full battle gear, his face serious and demanding. "If the son of Hephaestus has gone missing, then he is on his own. We cannot delay this any longer."

. . .

The only thing that Leo could think as he rowed the dingy to shore was 'Oh Hades. If I die, Calypso is going to kill me.'

. . .

"What do you mean 'he's on his own'?" Piper asked in desperation. "He's our friend! What if he needs us?!"

Zeus flickered in annoyance, but the light soon dimmed. The half-bloods began to notice details about his armor that were not only Greek, but Roman.

The Athena Parthanos had done its job.

. . .

The beach was eerie and quiet, but Leo supposed that, being the eye of the storm, it was supposed to sound like that. It still didn't stop the chills from running up and down his spine.

. . .

"Let him go, darling." Aphrodite spoke from behind. "This is his destiny."

. . .

The Latino demigod stared up at the path leading to Calypso's cavern. He felt a tugging inside his gut, but he couldn't tell whether it was from fear or from longing.

. . .

Percy's eyes flashed as he realized what was happening. He turned on the love goddess.

"Is this another one of your games? You know he can't get back there, and even if he could, the rules of the island won't allow him to leave. He'd be stuck there forever."

. . .

"Nice island," the half-blood crooned nervously. "Good ol' Papa Leo's come back.. We don't need to worry about some silly rules, right?"

. . .

"He'll be in more trouble than that if we don't hurry this battle along." Poseidon spoke gravely.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked, glancing back and forth between the gods and her boyfriend. She already had a sneaking suspicion of what they were talking about.

"Do you see those storm clouds on the horizon?" Athena asked, "A darkness has covered the Island. A darkness that even we can't see past."

. . .

Climbing the hill was more difficult than Leo remembered. With the footpath, it should have made it easier to walk, but Leo felt like he was moving through a lake a syrup. It seemed steeper than before, and the dark clouds above him were making it hard to see.

. . .

"Leo comes first," Jason said. "Then we fight the battle."

. . .

The fire user was certain that the hike would never end, but that was before he tripped.

. . .

"NO!" Zues roared, "The battle comes first! Do you want all of Olympus to be destroyed?!"

Percy got up into his uncle's face and grabbed the front of the sky lord's armor, pulling him down to eye level.

"You promised me," he growled, "You owe it to her to take us there!"

. . .

Leo looked down at where his foot had caught on the stone. A huge crack ran down and across the footpath, kicking up some of the stone and making it look like someone had come through there with a cement drill. He scrambled to his feet and ran past the last grove of trees towards the garden.

. . .

"I don't owe you anything!" Zeus thundered. "She's the daughter of a Titan!"

Piper gasped. "Khione- You mean _that's_ where she sent Leo?"

"What do you mean?" Hazel asked, her eyes full of worry and confusion. "What's going on?"

. . .

The flowers were crushed, the vegetables had been uprooted. The fountain in the middle of the garden had been smashed to pieces. At the entrance to the cave the curtain rod had been torn from its place. The son of Hephaestus felt a deep pit growing in his stomach; he was finding it hard to swallow, let alone breathe.

"Calypso!" Leo called out as he scrambled towards the entrance. His voice was filled with panic. "Calypso!"

. . .

"Take us to Ogygia." Annabeth spoke calmly, "We'll bring back Leo _and_ Calypso. Then we'll fight for you."

Her eyes met Percy's. It was what had to be done.

. . .

Leo ran for the cave entrance. Calypso was strong. Whoever did this to her island had to be powerful; he just prayed to the gods that it wouldn't be who he thought it was.

The main cavern looked intact. Nothing was out of place. Nothing had been moved. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. That's how Leo knew that something was wrong. The invisible spirits that had been there the last time doing all of the chores were now gone; they seemed to have disappeared right into thin air.

And then he saw her.

She was in one of the smaller adjoining rooms, her back turned towards him, sitting on a chair near what must have been her loom. But something was wrong. Last time he had seen her, the daughter of Atlas had been wearing a t-shirt and the jeans she had become so devoted to. Now she wore a dress. A dress the color brown - the color of fresh earth.

Leo stepped closer and he brushed against the half-open curtain leading into the room. It jingled as it slid across the bar that held it up. Calypso turned and her eyes widened as she saw him - red-rimmed eyes filled with panic.

"Leo, no!"

She stood abruptly, knocking the chair over. Celestial bronze shackles restrained her arms, and as her dress flowed out around her feet, he saw for the first time the chain connecting from her right foot to the wall. She almost tripped on it in her haste to stop him.

Laughter filled the room, echoing throughout the cavern. A laugh that was all too familiar to Leo - one he had hoped to never hear again.

. . .

"C-Calypso?" Frank asked. "Didn't we find Leo near where she grew up?"

"That's why he seemed so defensive when you mentioned her." Hazel spoke, her voice flowing with realization and remorse.

"Wait," Jason added, "I thought she was a Sorceress."

. . .

The ground in the center of the cave became soft and muddy as the stone disintegrated into nothingness. Gaea rose in all her earthy glory, making herself a barrier between Leo and Calypso.

"How adorable." she spoke mockingly. "Didn't I tell you he'd come back, Granddaughter? Why don't you say hello?"

Calypso didn't look up, but stared instead at the ground. Her jaw was clenched tightly, and she looked like she was close to tears.

. . .

"Whatever we do we have to hurry," Hazel spoke, urgency in her tone. "Gaea's army won't hold off for long."

Artemis stared out over the water, "Whatever the battle's like over here, something tells me it's much worse over there."

. . .

"Hey!" Leo yelled, his anger burning, "Leave her alone!"

Gaea's face turned to the son of Hephaestus. "Any Grandchild of mine should know well enough to stay clear of those who get in my way, much less fall in love with them."

Calypso's breath hitched at the words, and Leo felt his doing the same. There was a weird fluttering in the pit of his stomach, but he pushed it down. If he got distracted now he could lose the whole game, and that wouldn't be good for him or Calypso.

. . .

"What's going on over there?" Percy spoke to all of them. "Tell us what this is really all about."

. . .

"I did warn the both of you." the earth goddess spoke, her voice sounding dangerously calm. "Son of Hephaestus, you have proven to be a hindrance not only to your own little quest, but to me as well. You didn't accept my warnings, and that means that now, you must die." A light smile crossed her features before the deity turned to Calypso. "As for you, my dear Granddaughter, I have something very special planned. You refused to kill the boy when you had the chance, but now, before I destroy your pathetic little home and this scrawny little hero, you shall feel my pain . . . And my hate."

Calypso backed away as Gaea reached out her hand. The daughter of Atlas had her back to the wall of the cave.

"Go, Leo!"

The earth goddess rested her hand on the younger deity's forehead and began to chant - a language more ancient than had ever touched upon the demigod's ears. Leo tried to move towards her but his feet were stuck in the mud. Tendrils of earth climbed his legs, wrapping around them as he struggled.

"Calypso!"

The chanting suddenly stopped and the brown haired girl froze, her eyes glazing over before closing completely. Calypso sunk down against the wall before collapsing, unmoving on the cavern floor.

"NO!"

The earth queen's laugh echoed once again against the chamber's walls, even more chilling than before. She knelt by her Grandchild and observed her work.

Leo tried desperately to move his feet, but the earth only curled itself further up his legs. He reached his hands down to try to loosen the bonds, but they only attached themselves to those as well, tethering onto his arms like leeches. He stood quickly, hastily brushing the newer dirt away.

"What did you do to her?!" he asked, unable to move towards the unconscious Calypso.

"Foolish demigod," Gaea laughed, her closed eyes turning up at the corners. "I suppose I'll kill you either way; I'll humor you. I gave her my curse. That, at least, you can figure out for yourself."

. . .

"Each of you is a threat to her." Athena told them, her eyes sharp and above all serious as she surveyed the six demigods in front of her. "Especially those in the line young Mr. Grace mentioned before, including himself, Perseus,

"And Leo."

. . .

"I'm not going to take this anymore."

"Is that so?" Gaea spoke, her voice demeaning and unbelieving.

"Yeah, Your Royal Muddiness," Leo could feel his body temperature rising as his frustration grew. "It is."

. . .

"She's afraid of you."

. . .

The heat of the flames burned off the bonds holding his feet in place and scorched the earth all the way around for five feet.

"You and me, Dirt Face." Leo spoke, his face reading no-nonsense. "We're taking this outside."

. . .

"But sometimes, destiny brings out the best in us at the moments where we are most likely to fail."

. . .

"There will be no fight," Gaea chuckled lightly, her words hitting home. "Just your destruction."

. . .

When the gods flashed them in, the first thing they noticed was the smoke.

The second thing they noticed was the shaking.

. . .

Leo didn't give her the chance to finish her monologue. He blasted the lady with a wall of fire before she was even done talking. (Careful to avoid Calypso, of course. He wasn't that clueless.)

The next thing he did without thinking. Scrambling for a weapon, the son of Hephaestus reached out his hand and pulled a crystal from the wall, breaking it off from the others. He pulled out a sling shot from his belt and hurled the burning object at the earth witch. It sunk into her arm and created a long gash.

She probably would have killed him, too, if the island hadn't started shaking.

. . .

The half-bloods left the gods down at the beach to scream at each other about crazy magical islands and evil earth goddesses. They followed the footpath into the forrest and climbed up the hill.

Then they saw the garden.

. . .

Gaea smiled, her lips curling up and her closed eyes crinkling at the corners. Leo didn't think he'd ever be able to look at a sleeping face the same way again. (Except maybe Calypso, but there was no way he was admitting that. She'd probably hit him for it.)

"That, fire spawn, is my cue to depart. There's a war going on, and my army needs their leader before they decimate your pitiful friends."

"You're a coward," Leo told her. "I never thought the 'Great Earth goddess' would turn tail and run at the first chance she got."

The deity laughed. Just like everything else Leo said, the words didn't seem to have any affect on her.

"Foolish demigod, the island's magic is collapsing. Anyone mortal who sets foot on this island can never leave without a raft, and you've already used yours. It won't let you out again so easily. As the magic fails it will act like a black hole; the island will crumble and anything still stuck inside its border will be sucked into the vacuum." She strolled towards him and stopped a few feet away. "So say goodbye to your precious Calypso while you still have the chance."

Gaea disappeared into the wall, her laughter resonating throughout the caverns.

. . .

The garden was in utter ruins. The fountain had been decimated. The plants were uprooted and trampled, and there was dirt everywhere.

Annabeth stopped them at the entrance to the cave and shushed them. The echoing laughter turned their blood to ice.

. . .

When Gaea disappeared, everything fell out of Leo's head but Calypso. She was still there, unconscious, crumpled on the floor. That was when Leo's adrenaline gave out and his knees gave way.

"Come on, Sunshine," he whispered, his voice cracking on the nickname. "Come back to me." The half-blood cradled her head in his arms as the girl remained unmoving. "Come on, Sunshine." Leo's eyes stung and he felt like someone was stabbing him over and over again. He buried his face into the fabric of her dress.

. . .

They rushed in to find a broken-looking Leo huddled in the corner with an unconscious girl in his arms.

Percy reacted immediately, rushing forward to see if he could help, but the son of Poseidon stopped short, not sure of what he could do. Piper ran past and hugged Leo's shoulder, trying to get a reaction out of his dazed expression. But the Latino didn't move until Annabeth knelt down to examine the condition of the unconscious girl.

That was when things turned violent.

. . .

The world was blurry. Leo could feel the ground shaking underneath him as the island deteriorated. He could see the distant shapes moving across his vision. He could feel the aching stab in his chest every time he tried to convince it to breathe. He could sense it all, but it wasn't there. Leo had no control.

The half-blood saw a shape leaning down in front of him.

In front of Calypso.

"NO!"

Leo kicked out and pressed himself further back against the wall, hugging Calypso's body closer to himself. The son of Hephaestus felt his foot make contact with something as someone sucked in a breath of pain and curses. There was yelling from behind, but Leo didn't care.

There was someone on his arm, though. She was talking to him. Her voice sounded so...

Compelling.

The world started coming back into focus.

The fire user shook his head. "Wha- What?"

"You were in shock," Annabeth told him, leaning against the wall as she pulled herself upward. Percy rushed forward and grab her other arm from behind to steady her. Leo felt a sudden, sunken guilt as he realized he had kicked her leg.

"What happened, Leo?" Piper asked from his right side as she crouched near his shoulder.

It hit the half-blood like a locomotive. The wave of emotion rushed to his head and his grip tightened on the figure in his arms.

"I thought if I beat her it would break." he choked out, suddenly not able to breathe again. "But she left when the island... Now she won't wake up!"

"Stop saying 'she'." Percy kneeled down and grabbed Leo by the shoulders, steadying the younger boy and speaking in that calm,  
>forcefully steady way of his. "Tell us what happened. Why is the island shaking?"<p>

Jason had knelt beside him and was gently pulling Calypso from his arms to examine that she wasn't hurt. Leo almost pushed him back, but Jason met his eyes and the Latino stopped himself. There was nothing that the fire user could do for her right now. Why not let his best friend help.

Hazel knelt down as well and started undoing the chains.

The son of Hephaestus looked back up at Percy, staring into his intent gaze.

"Gaea," Leo swallowed. "She did something to the magic. The island's collapsing."

. . .

Apparently 'the island is collapsing' is code for 'Run like heck!' because that's the part that came next. Because Leo was as scrawny as a twig, he couldn't carry Calypso, so Frank was given the job instead. The first thing the Chinese Canadian had said when he got his first full view of her was "um, wow, she's really pretty". Then he had blushed beet red when they'd asked him to carry her. It hadn't made Leo entirely happy about the whole situation, but he supposed it was better than Percy carrying her. As much as the fire user wanted Calypso to wake up, he didn't need the magical spell to stop working just so that the girl he loved could stare up into the son of Poseidon's dazzling sea green eyes and ride off into the sunset with him on his perfect jet black Pegasus. That wouldn't exactly have made Leo's day.

By the time they made it to the gods, the surf was bubbling and the shaking had intensified. The screaming wasn't making it any better, either:

"I _told_ you we should have been watching the island more closely. This wouldn't have happened if Poseidon had been watching over his territory!"

"Me! As I recall we've been trapped up on Olympus because 'the Great King Zeus' was having a temper tantrum! I would have gladly come down and checked on my territory!"

"Don't you dare blaspheme me! We all know what you would have done if you were down here! You were going to check on your son!"

"Oh, can we all just shut up for once."

"Cool down, Hunter Girl. I'm watching the show. Here babe, have a flower."

"Ares, shut your trap. Aphrodite put that flower _down_."

"Don't be so heartless Athena. This is exactly why you don't appreciate Percabeth. You have no sense of romance."

"If you want to get off of this island you will _put the flower down_. You know the rules of the curse. No one leaves with anything from the island unless you're on a raft. And even then, it has it's limits."

"Athena's just jealous that no one's ever given her flowers."

"Apollo I swear I will-"

"Well, it's nice to see her fighting someone other than Poseidon for once."

"Don't any of you care that-"

"Would all of you just _shut up_!"

Everyone turned to look at Percy. Leo almost smiled. Even at a time like this, he had to admit, hanging with the Hero of Olympus had its perks.

The black haired demigod turned to him. Frank stepped forward beside them with Calypso in his arms.

"We have a problem," Percy spoke. His green eyed gaze landed on Zeus. "And you're going to help us fix it."

. . .

It didn't take long for Leo to realize that Zeus and Percy didn't really get along.

"I'm not fixing anything, _boy_, if you speak to me in that disrespectful tone."

"You promised me a year ago that you would set her free." the sea's son spoke, his fingers tightening into fists and his jaw clenching shut. "You swore it on the River Styx. Now you have to help us fix this mess."

"I don't 'have' to follow any orders from a mortal."

"This is your fault, Zeus!" The raven haired boy yelled. "Fix it!"

Leo looked over at the others to see if anyone else thought that Percy was about to be blown into a million pieces. Hazel looked pale, like she was about to faint at any moment, and Frank was the same way, eyeing the thunder god nervously. Piper was blinking rapidly, frozen in place, and Jason was standing there with his mouth slightly open, staring at both Percy and his father in disbelief.

And then there was Annabeth.

Annabeth was standing with her arms folded over her chest, staring at the two with her eyebrow raised, as if she were a mother with two children who were constantly misbehaving.

"Poseidon!" Zeus thundered, "Control your son!"

"Really, father." Artemis spoke in disapproval. "Apollo, go see what's happened to that poor girl."

She shoved her brother over towards Calypso. The god of poetry smirked back at her, almost as if her were about to make a wise crack, but then he turned and saw the unconscious goddess. For the first time in his life, Apollo was completely serious.

The blond being took Calypso's hand in his own and held the other to her head. "Tartarus, what did she do to you?" Leo saw the god's eyes glisten with what looked like pity.. Or concern.

The son of Hephaestus felt like there was a hand inside him twisting and squeezing his gut. The gods cared about Calypso; she'd told him before about how some of them visited her island quite frequently. How did he know that they weren't going to take her from him? She was immortal. Wouldn't she rather be with someone who lived forever?

Leo felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Apollo staring down at him. "One thing at a time, kid." he spoke in low tones for only them to hear. "You've gotta save her first." Leo felt suddenly warm in the face, and not from his fire powers. Of course they could sense his anxiety - hear his thoughts.

"What happened?"

Suddenly everything was very quiet, and everyone was staring at Leo. Frank hefted Calypso awkwardly in his arms so as not to drop her. Nobody else moved.

The fire user stared at his twitching fingers. It wasn't the same as his normal energy, though. This time it wasn't from his ADHD - it was from the nervous tension building up inside his chest.

The son of Hephaestus stuck his hand inside his tool belt to retrieve some of the trinkets he usually used to distract himself, but then he stopped, letting out a slow, even sigh. The Latino retracted his hands from the pouches and placed them by his sides - empty. Leo took another breath and looked up at Apollo.

"Gaea - she did something up at the cave. It was a spell of some kind. She-" He swallowed down the growing lump in his throat. "Gaea said it was her curse."

The change in the usually charismatic sun god was dramatic. His hands balled into tight fists and his knuckles went a bright wight. Apollo let out a sudden, long stream of curses in Ancient Greek as he raised is hands up and ran them through his hair.

"_Hades_, why did it have to be that?!"

Leo felt panic seize him a bit as Apollo's reaction finally registered. His fingers lit up a little and he had to pat them against his shirt to put them out.

"You mean you can't stop it?" Piper asked, her voice filled with worry.

"It's not so much a concern of not stopping it as it is _how_ you stop it." Apollo told them, still staring at the unmoving daughter of Atlas. "And doing it in the little time that we have left."

"What?!" Aphrodite shrieked as if she had only just noticed the island shaking. Leo guessed that she didn't really appreciate tragic love stories unless they ended the way she had envisioned them.

Athena gave the young woman a hard stare as if this was her fault - which it probably partially was. "Do you never _think_ before you set things into motion? -of the consequences? -of the harm that could fall upon all of us?!"

"Just tell us how to fix this." Percy spoke to Apollo seriously. "Tell us what we have to do."

"It's not that simple." Poseidon commented towards his determined son and the rest of their motley crew. "Gaea doesn't play this game like the rest of us do. She plays dirty, using ancient magic that would take all of our power combined and a long period of time to counteract. We don't even have enough time to lower the cursed boundary around the Island. Defeating Gaea's curse would take even longer, and without the proper time and concentration we would need a miracle to stop it. Another ancient force, maybe. But you don't just come by those everyday."

Annabeth made a sort of disbelieving, strangled noise in the back of her throat. Everyone stared over at her, following the blonde's gaze over toward her mother. Both Athena and her daughter wore pale expressions of disbelief, as if the answer had just fallen out of the sky.

"Lord Poseidon," the girl spoke in a dazed shock. "I think you just solved all of our problems."

She stared out at the raging storm bordering the dot of land. Leo's stomach tightened. He understood her plan all too well, but that didn't mean he liked it.

. . .

"You want us to sail out _there_?" Frank's face was starch-white. Hazel was next to him, already turning green at the thought of the heavily rocking boat.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Jason spoke, holding his hands out in front of him in the 'stop' gesture. "What do you mean, 'sail out there', and why does this solve all of our problems?"

"The island is surrounded by ancient magic." Leo's head shot up as he heard his father's low, gruff voice for the first time since they'd gotten to the island. "When we cast the spell, Zeus wanted to make sure that no one could get in or out without his consent, so he pooled our powers together and bound the magic to a set of ancient laws."

"And for once," Hades spoke darkly, "it appears that our _king_ has done something right."

Zeus reeled on him. "Don't insult me, brother. All of you were in on this as well."

"_That's_ why you haven't set her free yet?!" Percy called out in frustration. "Because you wasted your power building up the stupid curse in the first place, and you didn't feel like taking the time to de-construct it. Oh, that's just great."

"It's not as simple as that, sea brat," Hera spoke in angered indignation. "Show us some respect. We didn't want to be weakened so that we could hold our own against the giants."

"Ha," the Greek leader laughed dryly. "Respect? You didn't even _need_ to hold your own against the giants. We've been doing it for you!"

"Oh, that's it." Aphrodite spoke in frustration. "None of this is going the way it's supposed to and all that any of you are doing is fighting. I'm out of here."

The goddess folded her arms and a brilliant flash of light surrounded her. The demigods shielded their eyes, but something was different this time than the other times the gods had flashed out. The light grew bright before slowly flickering and dying out. When the half-bloods looked up, Aphrodite was still there.

"Oh, give me that!" Athena snapped in impatient annoyance. She tore a flower from the love goddess's hair and threw it to the ground. It suddenly hit Leo that this was the flower Ares had given her earlier - the one from the island.

"Wait," the fire user spoke hastily, the cogs in his brain turning on over-time, "You mean you guys can't flash out if you take anything from the island?"

"Of course not, boy." Athena spoke patronizingly. "Weren't you listening before?"

"When I was fighting Gaea," the Latino voiced, thinking quickly now. "I hit her with a crystal from the cave. It got lodged in her arm." He looked up at the others. One look told him his friends were getting the message.

"Gaea can't leave the island, either." Hazel muttered, her mouth making a little "O" as she spoke.

"Which means," Artemis added, "she'll be waiting for you to sail out there and try to get out yourselves."

. . .

Sailing to his death was not how Leo had envisioned the end of his grand rescue plan. Sure he would do anything to save Calypso, he had just hoped that it would come in a Leo-sized package instead of in the form of a huge storm. Or that it would be something he could just hook up to the Archimedes Sphere and type in a code and - Boom! - Calypso would wake up like she was supposed to.

Staring out at the water, you never would have expected that a month before it had been free of any cloud or storm. From the deck where they now rested, Leo looked down on the still, stale water below him. The waves seemed calm here, as if you were just glancing at it as in a picture, but the eye of the storm held no wind, and the storm outside was already encroaching upon their space as the darkened clouds crept inwards, the water reaching in like hands from the murkiness. They reached for Leo's ship and the crew of demigods, ready to swallow them whole.

The gods stood a-shore, watching them from a distance. Poseidon had warned them moments ago of the fierce waves that would not bend as easily to Percy's will, and of the darkened storm that would not follow Jason's commands. Athena had also begun her speech on the strength of Ancient magic, and that it would take a strong force of will and a large amount of power to break through. And above all was the unmentionable thought that was on everyone's minds - that Gaea was _also_ looking for a way off the island.

A bright light flashed, and the gods were gone. The demigods were left alone. Leo remembered his father's distant nod before the light had flashed - a look of warning - a look of concern..

He stared out at the storm before them. The fire user let a flame play upon his palm, gazing down at it. To storm or fire the world must fall? More like fire would fall to storm. With Leo's luck, the island would collapse and he and the others would all be trapped in the black void it would become, probably even dying along the way, if they were lucky. That would leave Calypso trapped in an eternal sleep, and Leo couldn't let that happen. He _wouldn't_ let that happen.

The Latino half-blood stepped up to the helm. The daughter of Atlas had been placed in one of the empty bedrooms below just a few minutes earlier. Leo hadn't wanted to leave her, but part of him was glad to get away. He wasn't used to this motionless form verses the feisty, ever-moving girl he had met a month before. Seeing her the way she was made the demigod feel nauseous, his stomach twisting in knots. Now, as he stood in the wheelhouse staring out at the storm before them, Leo felt that same clenching in his gut. Calypso would get through this, even if he had to die making sure that happened. He had made a promise, and if this was what the prophecy had meant, then so be it.

The half-blood turned to the door where the other six were standing, ready for him to give the signal to set sail. Leo stared down at the Wii controllers near by that had seemed like such a good idea when he first built the ship, but today he wasn't in the mood for fun. He splayed his fingers across the control board, typing in the code to raise the sails and leaving the gaming devices where the lay. The Latino demigod then turned full control over to Festus and again faced his crew.

. . .

Jason hadn't meant to trigger the storm. Well, maybe only a little. Sure, Poseidon had warned them that it would be hard controlling the wind and the waves, but it couldn't hurt to test the boundaries if it meant getting the Argo II out of there a tiny bit faster. Right?

Wrong.

The son of Jupiter now stared at the storm bearing all the more quickly down upon them. Only moments ago it had seemed miles away, and now it was only maybe half that distance. That meant they had even less time to escape the collapsing island of death, and without godly help it was already nearly impossible.

He had only been trying to put wind to their sails, for the gods' sakes.

The blond turned to Percy who had his face screwed up in concentration. In all his time knowing the son of Poseidon, Jason had never seen him so focused or even so strained. Usually the hero of Olympus could manipulate the waves at his whim, but the sea god had been right in saying that it would be difficult for both of them. Percy was trying move them forward on the waves while attempting to hold back the roaring ocean rushing towards them - something else triggered by Jason's little escapade of power.

The Roman half-blood concentrated on the wind, focusing all of his energy into pushing them forward. The ship was moving at a plodding pace, slowly picking up speed. Leo was in the front trying to convince his animated, slightly skittish dragon head to put a little more juice into its engines and get the hunk of magic metal moving. Hazel had asked to be tied down to the mast (which Frank had looked a bit uncomfortable about), her arms free so she could focus on breaking through the magic of the storm instead of being tossed around or getting seasick like she so often was. Annabeth had climbed the netting and was positioned at the top of the crow's nest, watching for Gaea in case she appeared, ready to interfere with there attempt of breaching the border. She had positioned Piper at one side of the ship and Frank at the other just in case. Percy and Jason stood in the center of the deck, straining to control the storm.

It was about to get a heck of a lot harder, unbeknownst to the son of Jupiter. That was when the clouds overtook them.

. . .

After this, Leo decided, he was never going to sail again. He would restore Festus to his original form, or maybe turn him into a jet plane or something, but after a quest full of vicious sea monsters and evil shrimp-zillas and collapsing islands, Leo was sick of sailing. He was going to go where the things he built would _stay _that way instead of constantly being destroyed - including his life with Calypso.

The Fire user tugged roughly on the wheel as the ship was tossed too and fro by the storm, teetering on the waves like it was about to flip. Percy and Jason had finally gotten the vessel moving, but now they had to face the wild wind and ocean, and if two children of the big three couldn't keep that under control, then by Olympus they needed all the help they could get.

The son of Hephaestus checked the readings on his devices, making sure the ship would stay on-course. Then he turned control once again over to Festus before stumbling out of the tilting wheel-house.

The upper deck was full of chaos. Some of the rigging had come loose and was flailing in the rough winds. The deck was falling apart before their very eyes. Leo ducked as something flew past his head. It looked like it must have been part of the railing.

Percy and Jason stood back to back at the middle of the ship. Behind them Leo could see Piper struggling to hold into the rail, her choppy hair flailing like the rigging. Frank didn't look much better on the other side. The Latino looked up to try and see Annabeth; his eyesight barely made it half-way up the mast before his vision was covered by dark clouds. There was no telling if she was still there or if the daughter of Athena had been blown away by the wind - maybe even a along with the entire crow's nest. The half-blood thought of Calypso sleeping bellow deck. This was one instance where he hoped she wouldn't wake up. It was probably safer that way, in any case.

The wind hit him full-force as the demigod stepped out from the shelter of the wheelhouse and fully into the open. Over the high whistling he could making out pieces of Hazel's chanting voice - steady, but far away. At least she didn't seem to be bothered by the storm. But if the Roman daughter of Pluto was hit be any ricochetting pieces of the ship swirling around, they would all be in trouble. Her focus would break, and she could be seriously injured or killed, which would mean that they would have no way of breaking through the border. Not only would Hazel be dead, but the rest of them as well.

There was a sudden, loud "snap" heard over the storm. Something else came flying out of the dark towards Leo, but this time ducking wouldn't get him out of this situation.

The son of Hephaestus had just enough time to curse under his breath before he had the wind knocked out of him.

During the chaos, more of the rope work had come undone, snapping under the pressure of the howling wind. One of the support beams holding the sail up had come loose, swinging down and around the ship before catching Leo by his midriff and sweeping him out over the ocean.

That settled it. Leo was _definitely_ never sailing again.

That was when the laugh sounded over the wind. Leo was scrambling to keep his hand-hold on the sopping wood as his feet dangled above the raging waters below, jerking the ship so it was hard to hold on. He was just about to attempt to hoist himself onto the beam when the sound hit his ears. Everything seemed to stop, as if the storm sensed her presence as well. For the fraction of a second, the wind froze. Leo peered out into the darkness and saw her figure a few feet away, about to overtake their ship. She was walking on a growing land bridge towards them. The water was destroying what dirt she left in her wake, but it never touched the goddess herself, almost as if it were afraid of her. The figure turned to him, and the half-blood could almost imagine the eyes beneath her closed lids boring into his soul. She knew about the crystal, and now she was coming for revenge.

They weren't the only ones trying to get off the island, after all.

The fire user scrambled to raise himself up onto the beam, but his movements were more panicked now, and his fingers slipped, dropping him farther down towards the sea and making it harder to pull himself up. He could only watch as Gaea boarded the ship, flinging a struggling Piper to the side without much resistance. The daughter of Aphrodite fell - pushed off the side - only saving herself by catching the bottom of the railing with her fingertips. Now there were two half-bloods hanging out over the sea. Leo saw her lips moving as she tried to call out to the others, but the wind ripped the words from her mouth and took the air from her lungs. The son of Hephaestus tried again, slowly pulling himself up onto the wood. It was agonizing and painful, but the dark haired Latino found himself breathing heavily, sitting on top of the beam.

Gaea's next target was Annabeth. The daughter of Athena had spotted her immediately and was in the process of struggling down the flying rigging, now detached from the mast almost completely. The earth witch sent a weed crawling up the wood to wrap around the rope, pulling it roughly so that Annabeth lost her balance, her fingers slipping. Leo cried out this time. Percy was too focused on controlling the storm to do anything. He and Jason were too drained to even notice anything going on around them except for the storm. The fire user grabbed at the ropes, pulling himself up hastily and recklessly while subconsciously realizing that anything he did would come too late.

Thank the gods for Frank.

Frank had been staring into the storm, searching for the threat he had sensed on the edge of his consciousness, when he had glanced back to make sure that Hazel was alright at the mast. The son of Mars had stared up in shock to see Gaea standing at the other end of the deck and Annabeth falling from above. Leo watched as the child of war changed shape, becoming a large Eagle to swoop up and catch the blonde haired girl. The demigod stumbled forward over the slippery beam as the two were buffeted by the storm, landing slightly roughly on the deck below.

Through everything, Hazel's chanting carried over the wind, her eyes glazed and distant as she focused past the storm. For a second Leo almost worried that Gaea would attack her as well, but the Latino realized a second later that she wanted to get out of there the same way they did. It was more likely she would kill anyone in her way now and use any survivors as sacrifices.

The earth goddess had begun her move again, this time heading towards Percy and Jason. Leo struggled on his way towards the ship before finally crawling off the beam and out of the rigging. He crept around the edge of the ship towards the stares, watching as Piper hoisted herself back up from the rail and onto the deck, breathing hard. They made eye contact and the curly haired mechanic raised his finger to his lips, signaling silence before creeping below the deck.

. . .

Once he was out of the storm, the son of Hephaestus was hit full-force. The demigod's knees buckled and he fell to the floor, leaning back against the hallway wall as the ship tipped and tilted. Leo felt sick to his stomach now that his adrenaline was gone. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that if he didn't start moving, the whole ship might be doomed, but he felt suddenly sluggish and slow - unable to move and barely able to breathe. He stared at the wall opposite him, his mind separated unwillingly from his body by fear and abrupt, chilling panic.

Leo had always been the outsider of the group, whether he was the third wheel or the seventh wheel. He had spent so much time just trying to prove to himself that he was worth dragging around that he hadn't allowed himself to accept that maybe he wasn't worth it. The thought had crossed his mind, but he had always pushed it away with a laugh and a supposed-smile. But now - sitting in the empty, abandoned hallway below the storm - the half-blood wasn't so sure anymore.

_You can't let her win._ The sudden thought penetrated his mind. _If you let Gaea win, you lose and so does Calypso and so does everybody else._

That jogged his memory, and suddenly Leo saw everything with astounding clarity. He stood, his knees slowly growing more secure as all the doubt in him turned to determination. He knew what he had to do.

Carrying Calypso wasn't so bad with adrenaline running through his veins, but even then Leo could feel her weighing him down. His muscles were much less toned than Frank - who had the gift of Mars - or Jason - who had trained at Camp practically since birth - or Percy, the hero that everybody wanted to be. As he carried her up toward the deck, he just hoped that this was going to work, or this would doom them all.

When Leo had been back above, hanging on for dear life as he dangle over the ocean, he had noticed not only Gaea, but something else as well. Hazel had been chanting for almost half an hour as they were tossed around by the endless wind and waves, and as they grew nearer and near to the border, the more powerful the affect of her words had become. Looking out at Piper, dangling out over the sea just like he had been, the half-blood had caught a glimpse of a gleam of light, small and twinkling in the blackness of the storm. A gleam that Gaea had not noticed. A gleam that was slowly nearing the ship.

It was that gleam Leo strived for as he stepped out on-deck.

. . .

The ship was in carnage, and that pushed the demigod to move even faster. He might have thought more about Calypso since he'd met her, but that didn't mean he didn't still care about his ship. The Argo II was his baby, and anyone who messed with this awesome captain was going to regret it.

The light at the front was almost touching Festus' nose, and the mechanical dragon was snapping at it like a cat pawing at one of those laser pointer things. As soon as he touched it, the light wrapped around the mechanical dragon like a bubble of bright white jello.

Gaea had been in the process of fighting Percy and Annabeth while Jason was working on cutting some of the rigging, trying to break one of the beams free so that the sail would fall on top of the earth goddess, hopefully crushing her. Frank and Piper were standing behind her, trying to protect Hazel from any miss-fired blows. At the flash of light, though, the dirt witch turned around. Her smug face turned from stern to a frown, to disbelief, to anger, and finally to horror as Leo barely turned to look, making his way to the front of the ship. The earth goddess twisted around, making to strike out at Hazel and quickly end the spell, trapping them all, but Frank and Piper stood in her way. She growled in frustration, but Leo was already only a couple of feet from the light. His gut clenched and he hoped this would work. Based on Gaea's reaction, just maybe it would.

Suddenly the fire user's legs flew out from under him, pulled backward while his upper body kept on moving. Leo fell to the ground, dropping Calypso's unmoving form as his arms slammed into the deck to keep his face from smashing into the boards. He felt a rough tug on his legs and shifted his position, turning to see his legs bound with roots that were keeping up his body while pulling him away from both the front of the deck and from Calypso. The other six were already held in place by the same kind of vines. Gaea had bypassed Frank and Piper, but not for Hazel. Her full attention - her full _wrath_ - was aimed at him.

The tendrils pulled the half-blood back as he fought against them, trying to hold his place on the deck. It only earned him more painful splinters from being dragged across the wood. Leo reached down to grab something from his tool-belt, but the roots slapped his hands back, detaching the belt from his waist. Soon Gaea stood over him, her face stern and fierce. She raised her hands and the vines began to grow.

There was another flash, and Leo suddenly realized that the storm had quieted down. He looked to the front of the deck where Calypso's lifeless body had fallen moments ago.

An angry-looking goddess stood on the other side of a wall of light that now separated the front of the ship from the back of the ship, her hands folded over her chest. Her clothes had changed from an earth-brown dress to a loose white shirt and a pair of worn blue jeans. And Hades did she ever look _mad_.

"Touch him, Grandmother, and this will be much, much more painful for you."

Gaea stepped back, almost in a daze. Leo guessed that she wasn't someone to have her plans fooled very often.

"Calypso," the ancient goddess spoke, "don't be ridiculous. Come back to your own kind, not to these useless demigods. Their parents imprisoned you. How many times were you visited by Hephaestus or Poseidon or Ares and they did not help you? How many years has it been now that you were cursed to forever feel alone?"

The daughter of Atlas took a step forward and the light moved with her. Gaea took another step back.

"And how many times did you have the chance to visit me or to free me - to negotiate my release from my pointless sentence? How many years has it been since you've offered me aid?"

She put her hands to the wall of light, pushing it forward. It was only three feet away from Leo now.

"These are the ones who came to my aid in my time of need. These mere "demigods" are the ones fighting for my release when they could be out saving their world from your armies." She stared at the dirt goddess, her eyes piercing. "So tell me, Gaea, why should I give you any of my pity?"

Gaea stared blankly, her face a stern mask once again, but her fists her clenched. For once, the chess pieces weren't falling in place in her favor.

Calypso's gaze never wavered.

"You gave me your curse, Grandmother; now you shall have mine."

Leo stared, mouth open as the Titan's daughter began chanting in the same language Gaea had spoken in only a half-hour earlier. Golden chains of light formed around Gaea's hands and feet, trailing back through the storm to the unseen island behind them. And all the time the earth queen held that same stern gaze, unsure of how to react. Leo knew how to hide behind a mask. On the inside, the goddess was whirling in inner-turmoil, conscious that this was the end of her physical form. The end of her power. The end of her control. Calypso stepped forward and the wall of light passed over Leo and the others, not harming a single one of them. But the wall struck violently against the chains of light, and Gaea was forced back. The storm condensed as Calypso pushed the border inward toward the island, and the goddess was swallowed by darkness. When the light reached the end of the Argo II, passing over the end of the ship, Gaea was gone.

Within the few moments of shocked silence that followed, the darkened clouds receded into nothing, and the storm disappeared. When Leo looked out over the clear blue water, the island was gone.

Suddenly Calypso was leaning over him, cutting away at the vines as she held onto his hand. And even though the deck was in carnage and a war was waiting for them back on shore, Leo felt like everything would finally be alright. His hand shook slightly in hers.

"Hey Sunshine."

She jammed her lips into his in a forceful, wordless response.

Oh yeah, everything was definitely going to be alright.


End file.
